Ask Matt: I think I'm being paid less than my male colleague

Dear Matt: I’m a female employee who believes I’m being paid less than a male colleague at my company for doing the same job. I don’t know if this is true, but it’s really eating away at me. We do the same job — we even sit right by each other. How could I find out if we are making the same salary or if he’s making more — and if so, what could I do about this?

Matt says: There are many, many factors that come into play here, and one specific answer likely wouldn’t provide the response you are looking for. But it’s important to understand how two people doing the same job could be paid differently based on these factors.

“Compensation is always such a difficult issue and one that we take personally as employees,” says Twin Cities human resources consultant Arlene Vernon (arlenevernon.com). “It’s important to recognize that employees are paid different rates for a variety of reasons, which could include more experience, more education, length of service, job performance or just better negotiation of pay at time of hire.

“There’s no law that says that two employees doing the same job have to be paid the same rate. And most often, they’re not.”

• How do factors such as company tenure, education, unique technical skills and years of experience come into the equation? How do you measure up in those areas?

• What was your last performance review score? Were there areas mentioned that you needed to improve — and have you worked on improving them?

If you bring this situation to your boss, don’t bring up the “you versus him” angle. Instead, ask your boss for an honest assessment of what areas you are strong in and what areas you are lacking.

Focus the conversation on how you can better perform your job, while also pointing out the successes you have achieved.

“It may be there is a gap between how you view yourself versus how the organization views you,” says Lelemsis. “Maybe your boss is simply not aware of what you have done or accomplished, so this could be an opportunity to communicate some of those successes.”

Vernon agreed.

“I don’t recommend going in to a supervisor with a sense that you’re underpaid and try to negotiate from there,” she said. “That’s starting from a weak negotiating place. Merely pointing to another person’s pay will not inspire your supervisor to increase your pay. Sell yourself and the value you bring to the company. That could be a more successful tactic.”